TO WHAT EXTENT DO PARENTS PRACTICE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE PURCHASE OF SECOND-HAND CHILDREN’S CLOTHES?

Abstract

Global demand for clothing and textiles has increased considerably resulting in an increase in textile-related waste and environmental degradation. The fast fashion industry has exacerbated this. Buying second-hand children’s clothing has been primarily a money-saving motivated phenomenon (Waight, 2014), but environmental concerns have been increasingly relevant as a motivation of this phenomenon (Butler, 2021). In this study, how much environmental sustainability motivates parents to buy second-hand children’s clothing is evaluated using a survey. Approximately 30% of respondents chose environmental sustainability (ES) as their top reason for buying second-hand children’s clothing, and 66% of included environmental concerns as either first, second, or third top reasons. This is a significantly higher importance assigned to environmental sustainability compared with the findings of past studies. Related variables such as income, age, and environmental sustainability relevant habits are explored in relation to the extent parents who buy second-hand clothing are motivated by environmental concerns. ES as a motivator to buy second-hand clothing was observed to positively correlate at the 0.05 significance level with income. ES was also to be more of a motivator in the female respondents compared with males. Respondents with ES habits such as having a green electricity tariff, recycling at home and buying organic/fair-trade were more motivated by ES to buy second-hand children’s clothing